Redhawk Caldera Gubraithian fire
gubraithian fire
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#1
All Welcome 
There was plenty of peace, quiet and healing at Wildfire's chosen haunt. She no longer looked quite so skeletal and she even found the energy for daily forays to the nearby lakeside. @Raven paid frequent visits, with @Elwood, @Finley and the others occasionally dropping in on her as well. Somehow, @Lagan had ended up as her most constant companion of all. He was a regular ray of sunshine and his good spirits and wholesome sense of humor really helped her through her recovery.

They were chatting animatedly even now, and Wildfire was marveling at the contrast between Lagan and @Eljay. They could pass for twins, yet they couldn't be more different in personality. "Have you seen your brother lately?" she wondered during a momentary lull in conversation. "He's still he—" Her voice cut off at the abrupt arrival of another pack mate, who tossed a dead rabbit down beside her.

"Hello, @Towhee. Thank you," Wildfire said heartily, speaking slowly and looking her sister in the face to be sure she could read her lips. Towhee simply shrugged and replied, "It's from Phox, actually. I gotta get back. See you." She flashed Wildfire and Lagan a quick, tight smile before retreating, presumably back in the direction of a border patrol. The Lambda's head tilted as she noticed a bunch of scratches littering Towhee's shoulders and spine, though she supposed it made sense; she was a mercenary.

Turning to face Lagan again even as she pushed some of the meat toward him, Wildfire posed her interrupted question: "Eljay's still here, isn't he?"
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Eljay dropped by Wildfire every now and then, just happy to have found her back, but he didn't want to be too much of a bother so he only visited her once a week or such to check on het progress. Much other time was spent with his baby siblings @Clover, @Lucca, @Tegan, and @Fiadh, and he felt regretful that he'd have to leave again soon to go back to Drageda, when he had only just met them. But there were pups waiting for him at Drageda too. Things took longer than he had anticipated. Eljay loved being in the comfortable glow of home but things were different at the same time.

This was emphasised when he met Towhee on his way to Wildfire. He looked away awkwardly, knowing she probably thought he should leave (or stay, but decide) and quickened his pace until he reached his cousin. Just as he arrived he caught the tail end of her declaration and he halted, though mostly because he realised she was talking about him and thought it might seem rude to walk in on her and Lagan there. His ears fell back as he wondered what she meant by what she said; as she finished speaking he walked up to them, as Lagan had already seen him then, and smiled awkwardly. "How are you feeling..?"
gubraithian fire
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"Well, hey, speak of the devil," Wildfire said when her mention of his name seemed to summon Eljay out of thin air. She smiled at him, tapping a paw on the ground beside her invitingly. "Come have a sit. Lagan was just testing out some dad jokes on me."

She lapsed into silence as she waited for Eljay to settle in and join them. She regarded him warmly, attributing none of the emotional agitation she felt with other members of Drageda. After all, she had never really associated him with the commander's pack, having disappeared before he could really become a part of it. He was just another friendly Redhawk face to her. She was aware of his true allegiance, though Wildfire didn't find it particularly pertinent to mention. In fact, she somewhat hoped he would decide to just stay here rather than go back, sort of like she was considering doing...

Wildfire breathed in sharply and banished that thought. "I'm okay," she belatedly answered Eljay's query. "I'm feeling stronger every day, though I know I'm still pretty weak. I don't think I'll be back to my full strength until spring."
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Eljay smiled as Wildfire mentioned jokes, feeling oddly familiar as he sat here in such good and familiar company. Familiarity had always been Eljay's biggest fondness and he really wished that he could stay here forever — but he was still a clumsy ditz and he really didn't want to be. He still needed to get better. He knew that he would have to return to Drageda eventually, but right now all Eljay wanted was to stay here. He thought of Blixen and how upset she had seemed when he said he would stay here a bit longer... He certainly didn't want to disappoint her, but then, he was sure that Wiffle would want to see her daughter again soon so surely they'd be off soon. Right?

He sat down by their side and listened as Wildfire said she was doing okay and felt stronger than before. Eljay wished he could stay until she was better, but if she was still so weak now, then maybe he should return earlier... "The pups really missed you," Eljay said softly. "I'm glad you're safe. I was going to wait with going back to them 'til you're better too, but, hm..." But spring was a really long time still. Not that Eljay had any clue how even to return to Drageda; he'd gone there once and then back once, and still had no idea what wind directions were and how to get anywhere. "What... Uhm, if you don't mind talking about it — what happened..?" He had been outside of Drageda, then recovering his strength when he had become a part of Drageda, weak still until the moment they went on their journey. He had no clue what had happened to Wildfire because he hadn't spoken much with mommy and daddy in the meantime.
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She listened in silence, ears folding slightly. They fully splayed on either side of her head when Eljay asked if she would recount what had happened to her. "I'd rather not," she admitted softly, flashing him an apologetic glance, "but I told Raven everything, so she can tell you anything you want to know." It felt silly to deflect him to a middleman, but the she-wolf sincerely didn't feel up to reliving any of it anytime soon.

Although Wildfire rather wanted him to stay here, she forced herself to change the subject by saying, "If you're sure you want to go back, then you should. I already sent Hux away. I appreciate your company but you know I'm in good hands." Her lips twitched into a weak smile. She had such mixed feelings about all of this and just wanted to go back to joking around and making idle conversation.

As for his comment about her children, Wildfire made no reply. It was just too painful to think about how she'd missed a huge chunk of their childhood, only for them to find her and go away just as soon. Of course, they had only done so per the order of their nomi, she knew, and she didn't blame them. It just ached something awful to think about any of it, when all Wildfire wanted to do anymore was get better and move on with her life, not dwell on the pain and terror of the recent past.
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"Oh, of course," Eljay hastily said when Wildfire said she would rather not tell him all the details. "I shouldn't have asked." He hadn't realised that it may be terrible, and he wondered what happened to her still. It must've been terrible that she wished not to speak of it.

Wildfire then said that he should go back if he was sure he wanted to. He smiled weakly, considering that Wildfire surely had to know that he never knew anything for sure... The pack would be so empty without her, but he also thought of Blixen and how upset she had been that he wished to stay here. He didn't want to disappoint her. "I... Okay," he said, a confused frown on his face while he tried to piece together what Wildfire was really trying to say. His breath came and fell in short breaths while he tried hard not to get lost in the panicked webs of his mind, while he tried to think. What should he do? Maybe what she was trying to say was the same as Towhee — that he should make a decision. But how could he, when all he wanted to do was to stay here but all he needed to do was to stop bothering the Caldera, to grow up, to be a man, to... All of the things he couldn't do. He'd thought it would be easier upon leaving the Caldera, but it felt like everything had just gotten worse.
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Her head cocked curiously at his uncertain tone, her chestnut eyes resting on his, studying his expression. It occurred to Wildfire that she didn't know how or when he'd eventually found his way into the ranks. When she'd departed for her trip—it felt like lifetimes ago, now—he had still been relegated to the outskirts.

"Tell us how you earned your place in Drageda," she requested, smiling softly at him. "It sounds like you've been spending time with the—the pups," she pointed out, swallowing back the lump that formed in her throat. "How'd you win Heda over?"
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Wildfire asked him about how he'd come to live in Drageda. Eljay nodded and looked at @Lagan with a brief smile before turning back to Wildfire. He had spent time with the pups, though not so much prior to joining the pack. He felt that what had won her over was the ultimatum that he might leave with Ty instead — with a shock he thought of Ty; he had never visited her! — and the fact he might end up dying if he would be left on his own for too long. Probably combined with Bobbin's undeserved affection for him right off the bat the first time they met.

"Well, um... It took a few moons, I mean — I mostly just spent time at the outskirts of the pack for a long time. I met uhm, Bobbin then, one day as he was trying to explore." He decided after a small moment of hesitation to keep out the part where Bobbin'd tried to convince the Heda that he had tried to run off and Eljay had stopped him; everyone knew that wasn't how it had gone, after all. "He was really nice, so I guess — maybe he helped convince the Heda..." He trailed off, uncertain if it were actually true. "I also met this wolf called Ty, who — she was creating a pack and wanted me to join. But then I asked the Heda about how long it would be until I could join, because I wasn't, uhm, I wasn't doing very well keeping myself uh.. fed.. and such.. And then she let me join." He hoped the story made sense as it was a bit jumbled, and looked at Wildfire with a tilted head in question.
gubraithian fire
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#9
I'm trying to wrap up Wildfire's threads to put her as a PPC, since we've got several people awaiting spaces -- sorry for the somewhat abrupt conclusion!

Hearing one of her children's nicknames made Wildfire feel suddenly heartsick. She tried to listen to the rest of Eljay's story but she found it very difficult not to picture Bobby, as well as his brother and sister. She didn't know a Ty (that she could remember at the moment, anyhow) but it sounded just like her youngest to coax his nomi to take pity on a newcomer.

"I'm so happy," she replied when he finished, her strained expression and voice appearing anything but, "that you made it in, Eljay. I really am." Barely a beat passed before she added, "Excuse me," and stood. "Stomachache," she fibbed perfunctorily. "I get them sometimes, randomly," which was true, ever since resuming a normal diet. "I'll be back."

But it would be a while. Shooting an apologetic look at both Blackthorn brothers, Wildfire sought out somewhere where she could be alone with her terrible heartache.
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#10
Eljay smiled softly at Wildfire, even though he didn't entirely mirror her feelings. He wished at times that he hadn't been let in so that maybe he'd have eventually returned here, or what if he had gone with Ty? He wasn't sure how she was doing, but still... Being here made Eljay regretful that he had loyalties towards another pack now. The only upside really were Bobbin and Blixen, and of course Artaax (but Eljay hadn't met her much yet).

"Thanks," he said with a soft, somewhat rueful smile. He really hoped Wildfire would be able to return home to Drageda soon. Then maybe it could finally start feeling like, well, a home. Eljay opened his mouth to say he hoped Wildfire'd be well enough to travel soon, but she interrupted him with her news of a stomachache. "Oh! Uh," was all he managed before Eljay watched Wildfire go off with a jolt. Eljay wasn't really sure he should've said, anyway.

He continued conversation with his brother then, though somewhat awkward, as they had much to catch up on.